Enter The Kit Gang
by Blue Da-Ba-Dee
Summary: The daughters of Sly and Bentley and the sons of Dimitri and Arpeggio have decided to start their own little group of thieves. Meanwhile, Sly tries to get an artifact from the mysterious character known only as Falcon. I'll eventually be revising it.
1. The Mecha Gem

Sly Cooper stared into the dark hallway. "Eh-hem!" he coughed, "This is Sly Cooper. I'm... back."

A peacock and a female leopard emerged from the shadows. The peacock had one bright red cyborg eye and short green hair. Or rather, head feathers. The leopard's eyes were green and she had black hair. "What do you want?" the leopard growled.

"I thought you knew that already," the raccoon replied coolly.

"Yeah, you want the Mecha Gem!" hissed the peacock, "The rare gem that makes my robotic eye work? That's what you're after."

Sly twitched his tail. "I _did_ make an appointment."

"No, you didn't!" the leopard barked, "Last time you came and we told you that you needed to make an appointment, you just said that you'd be back tonight and left. We never said anything." Her claws flexed.

"Just let me talk to your boss."

"No!" the peacock screamed, "You will NOT get the Mecha Gem, no matter why you want it, and you will NOT come back to get it again! Get him, Kea!"

The leopard unsheathed a sword out of practically nowhere. "Right, Cockatiel!"

Sly barely had a moment to think. Was the peacock's codename Cockatiel and the leopard's name Kea? Those are both types of Australian...

Kea swung her sword. Sly quickly sidestepped and was missed only by the width of his tailtip. She tried again, but he dodged. The leopard roared and brought her sword down, but Sly caught it in his cane. In a matter of seconds, Sly jerked the blade from Kea's paws and struck her in the forehead. Her green eyes rolled back and she sank to the ground. Cockatiel stared, and then bent down to see if she was alright. When he looked up, he saw Sly climbing onto a crate, then jumping through a poorly placed skylight. The leopard slowly got to her feet with a look of contempt. "Urgh! He got away!"

The two guards trudged down the hall after him, but then a voice echoed behind them huskily and coldly. "No." They turned around. A pair of menacing ice blue orbs glowed in the darkness. "He will be back. Soon."

"What are we supposed then, boss?" Cockatiel growled impatiently.

"Stay guarding this end of the hall. After encountering you twice in a row at the same end, an intelligent thief like Cooper would think that you switched to the other side." When he had said "switched to the other side," his voice sounded especially fierce.

"...Yes, Falcon," Kea muttered.

"Wait, what if he goes there anyway?" the peacock asked.

"He will have me to face." They saw their employer's sharp claws and hooked beak gleam in what little light there was.

"Yes, Falcon," the leopard repeated. She gave her partner a nudge, and then the two walked off.

------

I hope you liked it! I'll have the next chapter on Friday. It'll introduce the first of the main characters: Baron the "Gryphon!"


	2. Introducing Baron!

Dianna Cooper: Thanks! I hope you like this chapter, too.

Kaiseronni:if I told you Sly's kid was part fox and Bentley's daughter was part mouse, you'd figure it out.

Now, without further ado... Part Two,Introducing... Baron!

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One summer morning, Baron yawned and slowly sat up in bed. He blinked a couple times slowly. How much sleep did he get? Looking at the clock, he estimated about five hours. For Baron, that was actually normal. How much sleep do you think you'd get if your father was dead and your mom had disappeared only a little while ago?

Baron had the body shape of a lion cub. That made sense, since his mother was a lioness. His father, however, was a parrot. Arpeggio, to be exact. His arms were covered in jade green feathers, as was his tail. He had a tuft of blue hair dangling over his forehead and a short blue mane around his neck. His feet had long claws like a bird. Baron's fur was kind of tan. If you had to describe his eyes, you would call them steel blue, but in what most animals was called the white of his eye was pink, which made him look even more shockingly like his dad. Of course, it was just not getting enough sleep.

He sleepily crossed the room and opened the door. Looking out, he was reminded that he was all alone in a mansion. Baron's family used to have mynah birds for servants, Arpeggio took them all for "something big." The cub didn't know what the something was, but his father and the servants never came back. Baron had no idea what had happened.

Then he went to school. They were having a unit on famous thieves and the teacher was telling them about the adventures of Sly Cooper, a thieving raccoon who never got caught. "Then the Cooper Gang found themselves on Arpeggio's blimp," the teacher, who was a collie called Ms. Black, told them.

When he heard his father's name, Baron leaned forward, ears pricked. His dad was involved in Sly's adventures? He listened intently up until Ms. Black said, "Then that tigress Neyla ran out, lashing at Arpeggio with her whip."

"What?" Baron gasped, eyes widening as he stood on his chair. He noticed the entire class was staring at him. The cub slowly sat back down. "Never mind."

"Alright, Baron," Ms. Black continued, "Neyla ran into the bird's reassembled frame before Sly could do anything, and then she took Arpeggio out."

The kid's claws left deep indentations in the tiled floor when he stood up. "No way!" His big blue eyes watered. He repeated, "No way..."

The whole class was looking at him again. "Baron, is something wrong?" asked Ms. Black.

"Um, no!" he quickly stammered, "S...stories just get me excited."

"Then why are you crying?"

He stared at the ground. "Aren't stories supposed to do that, even nonfiction ones? The bird was just a cool person."

One by one, the students looked away and the teacher got back to the story.

Baron still had his mom for a while, a lioness called Lera, but she vanished a couple weeks ago. Now he was really alone. He dashed back into his room and looked in his wallet. "I'm running low on money," he whispered.

How does an orphaned kid get more pocket money? He wouldn't dare take his parents', in case they came back, even though it was unlikely. Baron opened the window and dove out, grabbing onto the shingles of the roof and climbing down. "I heard there's a nice emerald on exhibit at the museum. I could sell that for a lot."

That's right. Baron was a little thief.


	3. Half Pint Bandits

Dianna Cooper: Thank you very much! And I know, most people don't even mention Arpeggio in their fanfics.

Ilovecooper: Thank you as well! You're both so nice.

-----

Baron stood on a huge windowsill, peering through the glass at the still-closed museum. "How should I get in...?"

He kicked the window. The claws on his feet stuck straight through. The cub jerked them in a circle until he finally cut a hole clean through the glass. His "talons" were incredibly keen, but he didn't even have claws on his paws. A downside (or a partial upside, when you think about it) of being part bird.

"That's good," he muttered to himself, squeezing through the hole.

He hit the ground, landing on all fours, and then took a good look around. The security lasers would be a piece of cake. Moving spotlights? Those were no match for his speed. Baron moved swiftly through the hallways when he saw a figure. It was slightly taller than him, but couldn't be a guard. The shadow had a thick, bushy tail and batlike ears. It turned its amber eyes to him, gasped, and ran away.

Baron was really fast, though. He followed swiftly, yet silently. Then he peered around a corner. A large emerald gleamed within a glass case. "Fabulous," he whispered.

The figure was transfixed, too. It spoke into a rectangular device in a voice that revealed it to be a girl. "Myrtle, do you hear me?" she asked.

"Yeah," replied a new voice that was high, yet nasally, "Do you have the emerald?"

"I just need to slice through the glass. If I do it the right way, I won't trip an alarm."

"No you don't!" Baron pounced, slicing the case open with a kick. Then the museum lit up.

Now the figure was fully visible. She had medium-length indigo hair and a raccoon mask around her eyes, but she had a fluffy face like a fox. Her tail had three black rings and a white tip. Her fur was grayish-brownish, a color sometimes called dun. "You idiot!" she growled.

"What, Fly?" Myrtle asked, "What happened?" She sounded panicky.

"Some wise guy just triggered an alarm."

"Fly, you've got to get out of there! Try to find an open window and run to the highest rooftop. Spike will meet you there and I'll have my mini-helicopter!"

Fly nodded, and then turned to Baron. "You should get out of here, too. Spike is waiting outside a window in the fossil exhibit." That moment, a few guard cheetahs appeared around the corner. The raccoon-fox-girl pushed Baron, and he took off promptly, but some of the cheetahs followed.

Baron practically tripped over himself in attempt to escape these speedy guards. Finally he reached the fossil exhibit and climbed through the first open window he saw. He jumped onto the next building over. Judging by the noises, the guards were trying to find out how to climb after him. "Yo."

He gasped and turned around. The speaker was a strange-looking animal. He appeared to be a purple tiger cub with aqua-blue eyes, but he had blue spikes running from the top of his head to the tip of his tail. Blue marks under his eyes made him look sleepy, despite the fact that he seemed alert, and his claws were long and constantly unsheathed. "Fly rang me. She said we both go meet her at the roof of that skyscraper."

It took a moment for Baron to make out his strange style of speech. He finally asked, "So, how do we get up there?"

The tiger-thing who must have been Spike pointed at the row of buildings leading to the skyscraper. "We jump across the rooftops. They stack up like stairs." His voice was husky and he seemed to alternate between a French and British accent, making him sound even stranger.

The two cat hybrids took off just as a cheetah poked his head through the window. Spike swept his tail across the roofs awkwardly, Baron noted. The guards could grab it if they got close enough. Thankfully, the security guards weren't good at jumping and spent a great deal of time trying to pull themselves up onto the next roof. "The boss lady's right up there," Spike said, pointing at the skyscraper, which was just about four feet above them.

Spike climbed up on top like it was nothing, but Baron pawed at the wall without getting a millimeter higher. Curse his lack of claws! "What's your beef, bro?" Spike called.

"Look, you have long claws, so you can climb no problem! I don't even have claws on my paws!"

A cheetah guard dove for Baron's tail. He braced himself... and found himself on top of the skyscraper with Spike grabbing his wrist. "Thanks," he panted.

"No problem."

Fly ran over. She peered over the edge only to find that the guards were worse at scaling walls than Baron. "Myrtle's helicopter isn't up here!" she told the boys.

"Sorry, guys," Myrtle said embarrassedly through the device that Baron figured was a Cooper Gang style Binoc-u-com, "It kind of... fell apart while I was flying it up there. We really need a mechanic."

"I bet I'm the best kid mechanic you can find!" Baron laughed. He wasn't lying. The cub must have inherited that skill from his father.

"Now what?" groaned Spike.

Fly grabbed both of their wrists and jumped off the rooftop. She bit down on something and a large hang glider popped out of a metal bar in her mouth. "At least this gadget works, Myrtle!" she called through clenched teeth.

Why didn't dad think of something like this? Baron thought, then he just enjoyed the feeling of flying and looked at the ground below.


	4. The Kit Gang is Born

Dianna Cooper: Yup, that's Fly for you! Actually, I didn't change anyone's name. It was Dimitri who married a tiger.

Ilovecooper: Thanks! You're so nice! Yeah, Spike definitely picked it up from his dad.

----------

Sly opened the door of the safe house, came in, and sat down. "What happened, Sly?" Bentley asked, looking up from his computer.

"I got into a fight with Falcon's bodyguards," Sly growled, "but I got away okay."

"What's so important about this Mecha Gem thingy anyway?" asked Murray through a mouthful of peanut butter and jelly.

"You don't get it, Murray!" said Bentley, "The Mecha Gem got its name because of its use with, well, machines. Any type of gadget, computer, or anything else mechanical exposed to the Mecha Gem long enough will work exactly the way it's intended to forever. It also makes it harder to break. That thing can be used for anything from playing a Game Boy without needing batteries to..."

Sly sat up, amber eyes wide. "Repairing and reviving Clockwerk!" He shook his head and lashed his tail. "Of course! Now I see the big picture. This Falcon guy could be trying to revive Clockwerk. Why anyone would want to do that, though, I have no idea."

Murray cleared his throat. "Who's this Falcon guy, anyway?"

The raccoon shrugged. "I never get to see him. His guards, Kea and Cockatiel, always stop me. Either way, he's probably up to no good."

"Hey, aren't keas and cockatiels both kinds of Australian birds?"

"Yeah, Bentley. They're probably codenames, though. One is a leopard and the other one's a peacock. Besides, who would have a name like Cockatiel?"

"It could be a clue to Falcon's true identity," Bentley suggested.

"A falcon is a kind of bird, keas and cockatiels are kinds of birds," said Sly, "I don't think that's telling us anything we don't know."

"I guess so, Sly." Bentley got back to his computer.

Somewhere, someone else was fixed to the computer screen. Her name was Myrtle, and she was kind of funny looking. She had blonde hair and the head of a pink mouse, but she also had a turtle shell. Her tail was as long as a mouse tail, but it was green and scaly. Myrtle's arms and legs were green, but she had pink paws. She also wore glasses.

"Whew!" she sighed, "Good thing Fly is a quick thinker."

The door opened and Fly and Spike came in with someone she had never seen before. "We're back!" Fly chirped, waving a large emerald in the air.

Myrtle smiled. "Nice one! But who's that lion kid?"

"My name's Baron. Nice to meet you... Myrtle!"

The raccoon-fox girl said, "And guess what! He's going to be our engineer!"

Baron turned to Fly. "What?"

"You heard me!"

He started backing away. "I never agreed to that! You guys made me come here."

"You said you were probably the best kid mechanic around right after Myrtle said we needed one," Fly pointed out, "Plus you're a thief. I, Myrtle, and Spike were going to start a thieving group just like my dad and his dad, but we needed an engineer first! Therefore, you are officially one of us!"

There was no getting around it. All of that was true – except for the "officially one of us" part. Maybe this was a good thing, anyway. They could be Baron's friends and he'd probably be more successful as part of a group. "Fine," he finally decided, "I'll join you guys.

"Yes!" the other three shouted at once.

"How about our name?" Myrtle asked, "A team of thieves needs a cool name."

They all sat thinking for a moment, then Fly spoke up. "How about the Kit Gang?"

"'Scuse, me?"

"You know, like a kit. You should know that, Myrtle. A kit is a baby raccoon or a mouse and can be short for kitten, since Baron and Spike are part cat!"

They all agreed it was a good name. They were now the Kit Gang.


	5. Families

Ilovecooper: It took me a little while to figure that out, too!

Captain Amelia: Fine then, here is the update!

Odairu64: Thanks, and DRAT! You figured it out. That was what it was when I first created the character, then I decided not to speak of it in the story. I'd be the website's laughingstock... heh heh!

Dianna Cooper: Okay, I get it now! Yeah, I did that. And I agree entirely. Arpeggio didn't have nearly enough time in the game. Seriously, nobody died in the first Sly Cooper and most people didn't even have enough time to get to know the character. It might've been okay if Arpeggio had just been injured, but then Neyla went and brutally murdered him. sighs

----------

It was later that day. The members of the new Kit Gang were lying on the furniture of their hideout and having snacks. Myrtle chewed and swallowed one of her crackers. "So, Baron, do you have any important parents?" she asked.

Baron froze, his mouth open, a few moments ago ready to take a bite out of an apple. "What?"

"It's just all three of us do, so I was wondering if you do, too. My parents are Bentley and Penelope. They're both members of the Cooper Gang."

Fly popped a piece of popcorn in her mouth. "My mom is Carmelita Montoya Cooper, formerly Fox, so my dad is obviously Sly Cooper, the famous thief!"

Spike licked chocolate off his claws, and then spoke. "My old man's Dimitri, former Klaww Gang flunky and later joined Sly's posse when he went to get his family's secret bling."

The cub gulped. He was the only one who didn't have a Cooper Gang member for a parent. Heck, his dad could've killed the Cooper Gang. Just tell them about your mom, he told himself. "My mom is Lera Janesto the lioness."

The two girls gasped. "You mean Lera the singer?" Fly gasped, "She is so cool! I have all of her CDs! Is she a thief, too?"

Baron felt his chest swell with pride. "A really good one!" He was thinking about it. An aristocrat like Arpeggio married a pop star like Lera... That's something not even an expensive fortune-teller could predict.

"I could tell she was a thief by some of her songs, especially Rooftop Run and Locked Safes. Who's your dad?"

He froze again. "But Spike didn't mention his mother!" he protested.

"Well, we already know she was a tiger!"

Maybe he could lie. Apparently they just wanted to know the species. He could lie about that, no problem. "My dad was a pheasant."

Fly seemed satisfied and they went back to their snacks. However, when Baron was down to his apple's core, Myrtle spoke up. "Where are your mom and dad?"

For a third time, Baron froze. Spike was the first to speak. "My pops went back to Paris to get his street cred back up, this time around not getting the coppers on his tail. My old lady, I don't know."

The raccoon-fox talked again. "My dad Sly is trying to get some Mecha Gem thingy from this Falcon person. My mom is trying to keep her job at Interpol."

"And my mom and dad went with your dad!" the third chirped.

Baron said quickly, "My mom's missing."

Fly gasped again. "Oh! I was wondering why her recent concert was cancelled. But... what about you father?"

"I don't... like to talk about it." Baron stared at the ground.

The Cooper girl got the message. "Okay." But that wasn't enough to satisfy her raccoon curiosity. "I didn't know my favorite singer even had a cub or a husband. What's up with that?"

The cub paused for a moment. How should he answer that? "Well, she was worried most people wouldn't approve of the marriage." That was actually the truth. I mean, really. How many people would want to find out that a popular singer was married to a member of some sinister band of criminals?

Fly nodded. "Okay, that's all I need to know."

Myrtle was staring at Baron for a few moments, then they all got back to their snack.


	6. Time for the Heist!

Dianna Cooper: I know, it's one of the lamest Sly pairings ever... And nope, nobody else was murdered... except for another bird! screams Is there a conspiracy going on or something? Actually, it's spelled Arpeggio. And here, without further ado, is the next chapter!

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Time for the Kit Gang's first heist! They had each decided on roles: Fly was the Stealth, Spike was the Strength, Myrtle was the Brains, and Baron was the Engineer, which seemed to him like a more specialized version of the Brains.

In the cool night air, Fly ran across a wire. She had been reading the Thevius Raccoonus a while before they started the group. Then she stepped off at a rooftop and took out her Binoc-u-com. The raccoon-fox's color was gray, Spike's was purple, Myrtle's was yellow-green, and Baron's was golden yellow. "Okay, Fly," Myrtle said, "You'll need to get into that building over there, but the tricky part is how."

"No problem," Fly whispered, zooming in on the said building, "There's a window open right there."

Myrtle nodded. "That'll work. The three of us will go in after you."

The Cooper girl ran, snuck, and jumped through streets and over rooftop, then climbed a pipe to the open window. She crept in and found herself on some kind of catwalk. Fly ran to the end of it and found and air vent. When she looked in, she saw the other end was covered. "Rats, I can't break down the grating while crawling!"

"Don't worry," Myrtle said over the Binoc-u-com, "Baron's coming to help you with that."

Fly heard the "Cling, cling, cling" of claws on metal and soon Baron was looking through the air vent beside her. "I've got just the thing for that. I made them overnight."

He pulled what looked like a wind-up mouse from the little brown bag he had strapped to his side and turned the little metal key, then gingerly placed it in the opening. "Stand back!" he advised.

The two ran just an inch away from the explosion that erupted like a volcano from the air vent. "Sweet!" chirped Fly, "It's just like the Bombchus from Legend of Zelda!"

She ducked and crawled through. Baron followed and the two heard Myrtle coming up behind them – they could tell by the quick, light footsteps. The three kits ran down a couple of hallways and down a staircase, and then a security door blocked their path. Myrtle stepped up to a small keyboard at the side of the door and started pressing buttons. "No problem," she assured her two friends, "My dad used to do this all the time."

In a few moments, the steel door opened and the friends continued. When Fly looked back, she could see the silhouette of Spike running up behind. "The safe should be right here," said Myrtle.

She was right, but there were also three muscular German Shepards with flashlights. Fly flicked out her weapon, a cane that was shorter than her dad's but could become electrified at the tip, kind of like a combination of both parents' weapons, but weaker than both. Myrtle stopped her. "No way, Fly! Those guys are huge grown-ups, plus they have flashlights, meaning they're tougher than the average guard!"

Then Spike joined them. "What be the issue, homies?" asked the iguana-tiger kid.

"Them." Baron pointed at the large dogs.

Spike immediately dashed over. He leaped over a guard just out of range of the flashlight, doubled up, and then kicked him hard in the back of the head. The other dogs turned and pretty much only had time to watch the lavender and blue blur of a tiger cub before they were head-butted and knocked out. "Thanks," Fly said breathily as she walked up to the vault.

"You know, if there's skulls that need to be bashed out in the open, I'm your bro!"

Fly asked herself if her friend even knew which words meant what. She turned each of the vault's three knobs with her ear pressed against the door, and then it opened. "Yes... Oh NO!"

"What's the matter, Fly?" asked Myrtle.

The Cooper girl held a note in front of the other three reading:

Ha-ha! We stole the money and those machine parts! Finders keepers, losers weepers! – The Cub Fangs

Then a loud sound filled the air. "Oh no!" Baron growled, stomping, "That safe must have been rigged with an alarm."

Four more Shepards dashed in. The Kit Gang scurried away, following Fly, but the dogs were not far behind. Fly made random turns in an attempt to throw them off, taking them to the roof. Myrtle's helicopter, repaired by Baron the previous evening, was waiting right up there. "I knew it was a good idea to land the chopper here just in case!" Myrtle said with a smirk.

"Never mind, just get in!" growled Fly, pushing the others through the open door.

In a few more moments they took off. "Thank goodness!" Baron sighed. Then the chopper shook. The kits looked back and gasped. Two guards were grabbing the tail, one was holding onto the door handle, and the last was hanging from one of the treads. "No! We must be over the weight limit!"

"C'mon, Baron!" Fly growled, "How do we regain stability?"

"Well, um, given an estimate of their weight..."

"Spill the beans, bro!" cried Spike.

Baron took a deep breath. "Getting rid of one half of my weight will right us. We can't shake off the guards until the chopper's stable again."

The Stealth approached Baron with a strange look in her eyes. "Can most bird hybrids fly?"

Baron stared back. "Uh, if they have wings, probably. Wait, I know where you're going with this! Fly..."

"Yeah, exactly!" the raccoon-fox chuckled, opening the helicopter door, "FLY!"

She gave him a shove and Baron went plummeting down. "But- I CAN'T FLY-Y-Y!"

The ground was coming up awfully fast! Yes, Baron kind of had wings, since his arms were feathered, but like his dad, his weren't enough to sustain flight. How was he supposed to get out of this?


	7. The Cub Fangs

Dianna Cooper: Never underestimate the power of a lizard's tail! Heh heh!

Turquoisephoenix: I'm glad everyone likes it! I understand I kind of go "underboard" with descriptive sentences. I'll try to work on that. And Arpeggio is my favorite video game character!

Fearless Swan: Everyone seems to agree on at least that.

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Baron's eyes were closed. His blue hair whipped around his ears and his long green tail feathers streamed in the wind. Don't look at the ground, he told himself, Think happy thoughts. Like in Peter Pan. Yeah... Like that'll really help me fly. Do it anyway.

He racked his mind for happy memories. Let's see... Look Baron, there's a memory of you at one of Mom's concerts! That's it.

He saw gleaming spotlights and heard excited yelps all over. A lioness stood on a stage, singing with an Australian accent. The words of Rooftop Run flew into his head:

They're chasing, but I'm too fast!

They're falling behind at last!

Am I really doing this for the money

Or for fun?

Grabbing what I found tight in my claws,

Behind me I can hear pounding paws.

But I'm too fast and agile to catch

On a rooftop run!

He would go on, but this memory wasn't working anymore. Pick a new one, he thought, Here's a nice one. This is when you were helping Dad on his blimp.

Baron looked to his side and saw a certain monocle-cape-and-bowtie-wearing parrot. He looked at his feathered paw, which was holding a mass of wires. He looked back. This appeared to be one of the engine rooms. As you can guess, he learned about machines and engineering from his father.

That memory blew away when he realized that he should've hit the ground a while ago. Baron cautiously opened his eyes. The ground wasn't pulling him to it; it was whooshing past below him. Of course, he knew he wasn't flying. He looked up and realized the helicopter was above and he was dangling from some kind of grappling hook. "Hey, Baron!" Myrtle called, looking down at the cub, "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah!" Baron yelled back after taking a breath of relief.

"It's a good thing you installed this grappling hook. My mom had a similar one on her RC chopper." The turtle-mouse turned back and said, "Pull him up, Spike!"

"Alright."

Soon Baron was back in the chopper and in a few minutes they landed beside their base. First Spike bounded off, then Myrtle, then Fly, and finally Baron on trembling legs. Fly turned around to face her flightless friend. "So, why didn't you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Do the thing that is the same as my name."

Baron paused for a moment to figure that out, and then said, "You mean, why I didn't fly? I just can't."

"But why not?" asked the curious raccoon-fox, "I know this wolf from school whose grandma was a sparrow and she can fly."

"Then she has proportionate wings. Mine are too small."

Fly shrugged. "Okay, then." She and Baron went into the hideout.

"Hey, guys," Myrtle said, looking up from her computer, "I've been taking notes about this Cub Fangs group. Here you go." She handed a couple sheets of paper to Fly.

"What does it say?" asked Baron, trying to look over the Cooper girl's shoulder.

Fly read aloud, "The Cub Fangs are another group of thief kids. Their members include Marcus the Alligator, Jaeger the Panther, Wanda the Wolf, and some girl called Kestrel."

"Let me guess, Kestrel is a kestrel."

Myrtle shrugged. "I guess so. Her parents either weren't very creative or it's a nickname, since Kestrel is a cool word."

"I assume we're going for Marcus first?" the lion-bird asked.

"He does live closest. His base of operations is that out-of-business ice cream shop on Topaz Street, but of course, it isn't exactly out of business. Some of his 'friends' work there, selling ice cream so that Marcus still has money forthe Cub Fangs'operations, whatever they are."

Fly's ears pricked. "But where do they get the ice cream?"

Myrtle shrugged again. "That's the weirdest part," she said.

The girls looked around, only to find that Baron wasn't where he was just a moment ago. Then the door to the garage opened. The cub was standing beside their "team van." It wasn't exactly real, though, since none of them were old enough to have driver's licenses. It looked more like a racecar, anyway. It was blue like the Cooper Van, but it had sparks painted on the side instead of flames and the Cooper symbol was gray with fluffy cheeks. "Then are we ready to go to Topaz Street? The sooner the better."

All three looked at each other. "Well, okay!" Fly decided. She jumped in one of the doors. "Let's go, Myrtle and Spike!"

Myrtle sidestepped the Strength as he sprinted in after Fly and Baron, then climbed in herself.


	8. The Ice Cream Shop

Dianna Cooper: So you liked the little Peter Pan thing? Thanks!

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The bell on the door of the ice cream shop jingled as it opened. Fly and Spike stepped in through the doorway. The other two Kit Gang members were at their newly set up safehouse. "Alright, you two, here's what you'll do," Myrtle said through their Binoc-u-coms, "Spike, you distract the cashier. Fly, while he's doing that, you slip through that door in the back."

"What you have in mind, sis?" asked Spike.

"Anything you can think of as long as it works!"

Spike gulped and walked to the counter. A pair of orange ears that flopped at the tips was all that could be seen. The cub tapped on the counter with his long claws. "Yo," he said quietly.

There was a gasp and the owner of the ears stood up. She looked like a fox kit, but her face wasn't fluffy like most foxes and her tail was curled. Her hair was curly and blonde. "I...I'm sorry! Can I help you with something?"

"Uh yeah, so..." Spike looked at Fly briefly and gestured to the door in the back of the shop.

Fly nodded and slowly turned the doorknob. She slipped through the door. It led into what looked like a storage room. Jaguar cubs with pocket flashlights were everywhere. "Pfft," fly chuckled quietly, "These are Marcus' flashlight guards?"

When she looked around a bit more, she noticed a tall machine shaped like a soda can. Containers of ice cream came out via a conveyor belt. "I heard the vault had some machine parts in it," Myrtle said through the Binoc-u-com, "Kestrel must have..."

Fly asked, "Why Kestrel?"

"She's the gang inventor. That bird is smart – almost as smart as Baron."

"Makes sense. How come it's always birds in the gangs except for the Cooper Gang who are the smart ones?" Fly pointed out, "There was Clockwerk in the Fiendish Five, Arpeggio in the Klaww Gang, LeFwee the pirate parrot called himself the Smartest Man on the Sea, Baron is part bird..."

Somewhere down the street, Myrtle was rolling her eyes. "Anyway, take some recon photos and I'll give you more details."

"Recon photos? You mean like my dad?"

"Yes, you can do that. I upgraded your Binoc-u-com. Dad showed me how!"

Fly raised the Binoc-u-com up to her eyes. She pointed it at the machine and pressed a button. "That's the ice cream-making machine. Kestrel must've used the vault's machine pieces to make a machine that can... well... make ice cream," Myrtle said.

The Cooper girl noticed that in the corner of her vision, there was a checklist. It said:

check Ice-Cream Machine

Jaguar Cub Guard

Marcus

"How come you ripped off your dad's Binoc-u-com mode design?" joked Fly.

"Ugh, I'm just doing it the way Dad showed me! Get back to your reconnaissance!"

Fly pointed the Binoc-u-com at a jaguar cub and snapped. "That's one of Marcus' guards. Hey, they're about the same size and have the same body shape as Spike. A plan is coming to my head already!"

The raccoon-fox looked around for Marcus and she finally found a bluish-green alligator holding a bowl of ice cream. She pressed the button. "That's Marcus the Alligator. He's in charge of this place, selling their everlasting supply of ice cream to make money for the Cub Fangs." Fly put away the Binoc-u-com. "Alright, Fly, now get Spike and come back to the safehouse."

With a nod, Fly crept to the door and slipped through. Spike wasn't at the counter talking to the cashier. The cashier wasn't even there, either. She looked around frantically and saw that the iguana-tiger and the fox-something else were sitting in lawn chairs outside, chatting. Fly rolled her eyes and went out. "Spike!" she said sharply.

"Uh, what be the issue?"

"We've got to go and you're here talking with the ice cream shop seller!"

The fox-like girl looked at Fly. "I'm sorry, what's the matter?"

Fly tried to think of something not suspicious. "Um, we just came here to get ice cream, which I see that he hasn't!" She glared convincingly at Spike.

"Oh, uh..." Spike also appeared to be thinking of what to say. "I say sorry."

"Oh, if you want ice cream, I'll go get some!" chirped the girl. She ran inside and came back out with a large container of Neapolitan. "And don't get your wallet out. It's on me." She batted her eyelashes at Spike. He blushed.

Fly took the ice cream and grabbed Spike's arm. "Thanks. Well, we gotta go!"

She dashed to the safehouse. Spike was keeping up, but seemed like he was in a trance.


	9. Falcon

Heiduska: I'm glad that you like my story, Fly, the Kit Gang, when Baron said that he can't fly, etc. Thanks! And you'll see why the Cooper Gang couldn't come in this chapter.

Dianna Cooper: Thanks! Wait 'til you see where Wanda hangs out.

----------

Sly jumped through the skylight and into a hallway. Nobody was there. "Did we choose the right side, Sly?" Bentley called from outside,

"If Falcon's bodyguards were on this side, you would hear that leopardess growling at me. The coast's clear."

Three figures jumped into the hallway. One was tall and fat, Murray; one was in a wheelchair, Bentley; and one was a girl, Penelope. "I'll go in first," Sly told the other thieves.

He slowly walked further inside. A silver door handle gleamed in the shadows. The raccoon slowly turned it, motioned with his hand to follow, and slipped inside. He couldn't tell what kind of room this one was; it looked like a cross between a bedroom and an office. There were also eight cages. Half of them were pretty small, but the other half were big. Then a sparkle caught Sly's eye. The Mecha Gem was on a small table. The others quietly came through the door and Sly reached out for the gem with his cane, but suddenly the lights turned on. "I don't believe you'll need that," said a husky voice.

The four thieves gasped and looked into the corner of the room. An armored bird was glaring at them with glowing blue eyes. He didn't look like a falcon, though. A small owl, perhaps? "Well, I believe we will!" Sly quickly snagged the Mecha Gem with his cane and leaped for the door.

Falcon flew over him and blocked the way with his wing. "Hey, let us go, or face the wrath of... THE MURRAY!" Murray roared.

He aimed a punch at the bird's stomach, but then found himself waving and blowing on his hand. Falcon kicked him with his large claws and Murray reeled back. "No, if you don't let that gem go, you shall all feel my wrath."

Kea and Cockatiel burst through a door on the other side of the room. "What's going on, boss?" Kea asked. Then she noticed Sly and his gang and growled.

"Nab that mouse!"

The two bodyguards grabbed Penelope and shoved her into one of the larger cages. "Penelope!" Bentley yelled.

"The turtle, too."

Bentley noticed his wheelchair being lifted off the ground. He looked behind him and saw that Cockatiel had grabbed the back of his wheelchair and was flying it to where Kea was waiting by one of the big cages. The peacock dropped him in and Kea locked the top down.

"And the hippo."

"The Murray is impossible to confine!" bellowed Murray.

As Kea and Cockatiel sprinted over, he ran right into them, punching the latter into a wall. Kea, however, leaped over him and whacked the hippo from behind, then knocked him into the air, causing him to land in one of the cages.

"I will deal with Mr. Cooper."

Falcon quickly kicked out and pinned Sly under his heavy claw. Sly tried to squirm between his long talons, but he didn't leave a raccoon-sized space. The metal bird raised his other claw. "Let go of our raccoon, you General Grievous rip-off!" Penelope yelled.

"Oh, don't make such a fuss." Falcon grabbed Sly's pouch and flung it into the wall. The contents scattered across the floor, including Sly's Binoc-u-com. Then he grabbed Sly by the back of his shirt and dropped him in a cage.

The Binoc-u-com started making static noises. A youthful female voice came through. "Dad, Uncle Bentley, Uncle Murray, Aunt Penelope? Are you there?"

"Fly!" Sly gasped.

"Dad, are you okay?"

The armored bird smirked wickedly and looked down at the Binoc-u-com. He removed a piece of the side and then cut a wire with his claw. Fly's voice was no longer heard. "Do tell, who is Fly?" Falcon asked.

"Do you really think I'm going to tell you?"

"She was calling you 'Dad.' She must be your daughter."

The raccoon sighed and slowly sat down in his cage.

"I thought so. Well, Kea and Cockatiel and I need to discuss something in the hall. Cockatiel, stand!"

The peacock stood up from the feathery heap he was lying in and went beside Falcon.

"Right, then. Good night, Cooper Gang."

The bird, the peacock, and the leopardess opened and went through one of the doors. The lights went out.

"Oh no," Penelope sighed after a few minutes of silence, "That guy knows about the kids."

Bentley said, "Don't worry about Myrtle, he only found out about Fly. Of course, I'm not saying I'm not worried about Fly."

"But what if he sends Kea and Cockatiel after her?" Sly pointed out, "Then Myrtle and even Spike will be in trouble along with her." There was a very long pause. "Good night, I guess."

"Sly, how can you think of sleeping at a time like this?" asked Murray, "Of course, THE MURRAY is never one to question the judgment of a master thief."

There was no answer except for Sly's breathing.

"Well, uh... good night." Soon Murray was snoring. Loudly, may I add.

Penelope shrugged, though it was hard to see in the dark. "We'll need the rest," she commented, "Maybe we can sleep on a plan."

Bentley shrugged back. "When you put it that way, I agree."

Soon the room was silent.


	10. Crocodile Hunter

Heiduska: He'll get worse, believe me...

Dianna Cooper: Yup, I love Star Wars! Heh, that's pretty funny.

Heistmaster: What's up, SD? Glad you like my story.

Odairu64: Yeah, I have a feeling you do. JUST DON'T TELL ANYONE!

Fairyalexa: Nope, sorry, he doesn't, but I'm glad you think my story's awesome!

-----

Fly was staring off into space. Her eyes were glazed over and she could barely make out Myrtle's voice as more than a low murmur. "So, Fly, should we go now?"

"No," she replied dully.

"Well, do we have any yellow or black paint?" asked Myrtle.

"No."

"Wait a minute, we have plenty! Are you listening?"

"No."

Myrtle picked up Fly's cane and tapped her on the head. However, she accidentally turned on the electricity. "OW!" Fly yelped, "Okay, okay, I'm awake!"

"Good. Did you even hear about the operation?"

"Um, no. I was thinking."

"About what?"

"Well," the Cooper girl said with a hint of worry, "I tried to talk to Dad via Binoc-u-com last night, but there was a lot of static. I heard Dad say, 'Fly!' and then his Binoc-u-com turned off."

"It could've just been bad reception. We can't worry about that right now. I guess I have to repeat the operation."

The turtle-mouse turned on a slideshow that began with a frame of the ice cream parlor entrance. In yellow letters were the words "Operation: Crocodile Hunter." "He's an alligator, Myrtle."

"Ugh, does it matter? Anyway." The frame switched to one of a jaguar cub. "The only people allowed back there are Marcus' jaguar guards. Who do we know who we could pass off as a jaguar?" It changed to a picture of Spike. "Our good old Strength unit. Plus even if the cashier Mimi knew it was Spike, she would let him by." Next showed a picture of Spike covered in yellow paint with black spots and a janitor outfit punching a real jaguar. "Spike will take care of everyone inside – don't worry, I guarantee Marcus will not be inside – and then you go in, Fly. But Mimi I don't think trusts you, so we'll need Baron to put up a diversion." It changed to a picture of Baron entering the ice cream shop, then to one of Fly's pouch. Inside were three small capsules. "We've already put some explosives in your pack. Baron made them out of the spices that the Klaww Gang used. How he got hold of the spices, I'll never know." The next frame showed the ice-cream machine. "Drop the bombs inside the machine through a hatch on the top, grab the machine parts, and then we can run!"

"Where does crocodile hunting come in?" Fly asked.

"We're hunting the crocodile – pardon me - the ALLIGATOR'S machine parts."

"Alright. So, what do we do first?"

Spike leaped out of a tub of yellow dye, coughing. "Yellow does not work for me, sis!" he growled.

"Sorry, but we're not done yet." Myrtle whipped out a black paintbrush and started painting black spots on Spike's fur. She was sure to paint his spikes black as well to make them stand out less as well as the blue areas under his eyes. "Now you look enough like a jaguar."

The iguana-tiger hybrid looked in the mirror. "Well," sighed Spike, "there goes my smooth charm."

Myrtle rolled her eyes. "Quit whining and put this on!"

She held out a blue janitor outfit. Reluctantly, Spike took it and put it on. "Are we all set now?" Fly asked.

"I think so. Get the team vehicle ready, Baron!"

Baron nodded and went outside where the "van" was parked. The other three followed and then they all boarded. There was a rattling sound and then the vehicle took off down the street. After a few minutes, Baron parked in front of the ice cream parlor. The doors unlocked. "Alright, Spike. You're up," the Stealth said.

Spike opened his door and stepped out onto the curb. With a shaky paw he turned the handle on the door to the ice cream shop. "Yo, Mimi!" he greeted, trying to stay calm.

"Hi!" the cashier kit greeted back, waving. Her expression was weird. "Spike? Is that you?"

"Yeah. Don't ask. Anyway, I need to swing by the back room. You cool?"

"Anything for you, Spiky!"

The cub turned red. She just called him "Spiky." The red-faced "jaguar" walked through the door of the storage room and slowly approached one of the guards. He swiftly punched him and the other cub fell down. As he could've predicted, the other jaguars came. One of them cleared his throat. "I don't think I've seen you before."

"Uh, I don't think so."

"Who are you?"

Spike tried to think of what to say. Then it came to him. What else? "Can't tell you. Instead, let me introduce you to my FIST!"

He whacked the jaguar who had spoken. The others pounced, but the swift Spike leaped over the entire yellow and black wave of fur. He jumped over them again, this time kicking one of their heads. There were only three left. Spike punched with both of his paws at once, hitting two. Then he looked around. Apparently the last one had run off. He took out his Binoc-u-com. "The coast is clear, homies! Are the boss lady and the tech ready?"

"Yeah, we're going in right now," Fly replied. She went through the already opened door with Baron right behind her. "Alright, Baron. Think of something."

The Engineer nodded briefly. He walked up to a wall and stared at the menu. Silently, Baron took out a small hook on a tough string. He hooked it to the nail holding the menu up and pulled. The nail came loose and Baron winced as the menu came falling down. THUD.

"Ah!" Mimi squealed, leaving her spot at the counter and flying to Baron's side, "Are you okay?"

Baron just groaned. "He's a good actor," muttered Fly, slinking through the door.

She glanced around cautiously. Nobody was around except for a few unconscious jaguars and Spike, who high-fived her on his way out. Then she approached the tall ice-cream-spitting cylinder off to the side of the room. Fly found a ladder on the side and started to climb it when she yelped. Something freezing cold had just struck her in the back. When Fly looked down, she saw an ice cream-covered spoon hit the ground and a blue alligator holding a tub of vanilla. "Get off!" Marcus hissed.

"Hey, you weren't supposed to come!"

"One of my jaguar buddies told me that there was someone beating up the others." Fly tried to scamper higher up the ladder, but slipped and fell to the floor headfirst. "Now get out of here!"

"No way!" The Stealth made an "X" with her arms. "My gang was going to steal what was in that vault in that building, but all we found was a 'friendly' note from you Cub Fangs."

"So, I'm guessing you want the machine parts?"

Fly nodded.

"Sorry!"

Marcus snapped at the raccoon-fox with his jaws, but she whipped out her cane, turned on the electricity, and whacked his side. The alligator yelped and struck back with his tail, sending Fly – no pun intended – flying. Fly glared angrily and lashed out about six times, hitting each time. This time, it wasn't Fly who was sent flying. When Marcus got back up, he growled, "Alright, now you're going to get it!"

"Get what?" Fly asked sarcastically, "Your scary ice cream spoon?"

"No! Wait 'til you see the special power Wanda gave me, like right NOW!"

The alligator exhaled. Mist came out of his mouth and surrounded Fly, who thought he was using it as a smokescreen so she wouldn't see his attacks. That was incorrect. Instead, it froze, leaving Fly trapped in what could be described as a frozen bubble. "And look at this!" Marcus stuck his claw through the ice. "I can go through it!"

Oh boy. The Cooper girl felt herself getting whacked by the reptile's tail. That's when she got an idea. Fly turned the electricity up all the way on her cane and stuck it into the ice. It melted and in a matter of seconds she had a big enough hole to escape through, which she did. With a growl, Marcus tore the ladder off the ice-cream machine. Great. Just great! Now what was she going to do? Marcus tried to freeze his opponent again, but she blew it away by rapidly twirling her cane. It froze the floor and the alligator slipped. He was apparently having a hard time getting back up.

I should have barely enough time to think of how to get my bombs into the machine, thought Fly, but WHAT? Let's see, he uses ice. Did dad teach you that move? Yeah, I think he did. Since I don't have a double cane, I could use my nails, though that might be a little tough. Ah, who cares? I'll give it a shot.

When the ice melted and Marcus regained his footing, Fly positioned herself in front of the ice-cream machine. "Hey, Marcus!" she called, "I'm over here!"

As she had predicted, he breathed – practically blew – ice. Fly cartwheeled away from the mist and it instead froze on the side of the machine. She ran back over and latched her cane and the claws on her left paw into the sheet of ice and clambered up. The Stealth reached into her bag and produced the spice bombs. She tossed them in, and then ran for the door.

"What are you doing!" Marcus yelled, running after her, "What did you just put in my machine? AAAAAHH!"

There was an explosion. Fly looked over her shoulder and saw the ice alligator getting blown into a wall along with the machine parts, which she turned back, grabbed, and then bolted out. Then she almost slipped on the tiling in the front. "C'mon, Baron! We've got to go!"

"Wait, what was that noise back there?" asked Mimi.

"No time, Baron and I have to go!"

Baron nodded and ran after her. "Great job, guys!" Myrtle chirped over the Binoc-u-com, "For our first operation, you did great! Now come right back to the safehouse. Apparently Jaeger can be found at a toy store down on Emerald Street. We're heading right there."


End file.
